


Decay

by PawsCat (LanaBlade)



Category: Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-02-02
Updated: 2003-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-12 08:51:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LanaBlade/pseuds/PawsCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As usual, Leon is investigating murders he believes to be connected to the pet shop. Will he be able to capture the suspect before anyone else dies? And what's with the air conditioning in the pet shop, anyways?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decay

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally written in 2003 for a Lyric Wheel on the PSoH fanfiction ML. All my love and thanks to those wonderful ladies/gents who invited me to play in the sandbox. Also, thanks muchly to CyberKat who caught my 'rear entry wound' line when this was originally posted on FF.net.

The door to the shop swung open, and D turned to greet a customer, a tired smile forced onto his face. Instead of a client, however, only a small Chinese boy in faded jeans stood in the shops murky interior. He held a box before him in both hands.

D's smile widened as he took in the boy's stance. His head was dutifully lowered as his mother had taught him, but his feet and eyes never ceased their movement. "Hello, Hon. How are you today?"

The boy just looked up with a grin and bounced on his heels. "My mother sent me to give this to you. It is a thank you, Honorable Count, for the magic you worked to cure my headaches."

D laughed at this and ruffled the boy's hair before taking the box. "No magic, Hon. Just knowledge. How is your schooling going?" Hon's face twisted in answer. "Knowledge is power, Hon. Remember that." D bowed to the child and motioned that he was free to leave.

As he turned to go, however, Hon paused. "That man still watches outside. Grandmother says that he hasn't moved in three days." Hon's face lit up impishly, "Do you think he's died?"

"If he has, it serves him right." D muttered and swatted the child lightly. With a ringing laugh, Hon disappeared up the steps into the fading light of the street.

D just shook his head and went about closing the shop for the evening. "Detective, you are entirely too stubborn for your own good. What do you expect to see?" After locking up, D wandered over and opened the box that Hon's mother had sent him. His second genuine smile of the day flowed across his face as he took in the delicate fried Chinese sweets that lay in the box. It was the perfect finish to save an otherwise nightmarishly long, hot, tiring day.

The air conditioning in the pet shop was failing in the intense heat of the summer, and if D had been a human, his cheongsam would have been soaked with sweat by now. As it was, the expensive silk was stuck to him like a second skin. Even though the sun was going down, it was only slightly better than an oven in the shop, and D was beginning to be concerned for his pets' health. Not to mention the fool hardy detective who had been sitting in his car in an alley nearby for three days. D eyed the box again. There was enough for two.

He argued with himself for long moments before finally surrendering to the inevitable with a hearty, extended sigh. Pausing only to grab two glasses of iced tea, D walked through his labyrinthine shop to one of several back entrances. The pets he passed looked as though they were wilting, and his worry increased.

Emerging into a steadily darkening alley, he was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature tolerable, and a steady breeze blowing. The exit he'd used brought him out of the pet shop behind Leon's car. If you can call that heap of rust waiting to happen an automobile, D thought with a smile. He approached the car as silently as possible, noting that while he felt overcooked and exhausted, even in the fading light, Leon looked worse. His eyes were dark and had bags the size of tourist luggage beneath them, and his hair was limp and greasy. As D got closer, he made a face. The detective didn't just look like he hadn't showered in a year.

Just as D was close enough to announce his presence, Leon lifted a pair of binoculars and peered toward the shop's door.

It was too good of an opportunity to resist. So D didn't even bother trying to. Leaning forward into Leon's face, and consequently into the binoculars view, D greeted the detective as loudly as he could manage. "Good evening, Detective!"

Leon pulled back so fast that he slammed his head against the top rim of the window. Cursing and holding his head, he glared at D from beneath the bangs plastered to his head. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Count?"

D smiled broadly, "I came to ask you to have tea with me." To support his claims, he held up the condensation coated glasses.

Leon grumbled and glared, but in the end, he gave in to the calls of the ice filled glasses. The pair settled themselves on the trunk of the car, D making sure never to get downwind of the detective. "Now, Detective," D began after they had had a few cooling sips of tea, "would you care to tell me why you have been 'staking out,' I believe the call it, my shop in the middle of summer, in an automobile that is decidedly lacking in any form of air conditioning?" He opened the box of treats and held it out to Leon.

Leon appeared to consider the box for a long moment, then with a shrug, took one of the treats and popped it in his mouth. He was silent as he chewed and swallowed, not meeting D's eyes. "There's been a rash of murders in the last two weeks. All the victims were killed while out on the balcony of their hotel room or their home." Leon looked at D, and his eyes were tired and flat, "Their eyes were gauged out, among other things. The lab says that it looks like they were attacked by a large bird."

D nodded, "And you believe that I may be involved in these murders. I see. But why not just come and speak to me as always? Why did you change the rules of the game, Detective?"

Leon seemed to explode, shouting at D, "This isn't a game, Count!" He shoved off the car and slammed his fist into a nearby wall. The pain seemed to clear his senses a bit. Breathing heavily, he turned back to D. "The last two victims were kids, D. Twins." He couldn't maintain eye contact, and stared down at his now bloody fist, "They were only six years old."

D had never heard such a dead voice before, and it frightened him to hear it from someone usually so full of life. He took hold of Leon's chin and waited until the detective looked at him to speak, "What happened to those children is indeed a tragedy, Leon. I would not sell something that was so dangerous. However, I will help you in any way that I can to find their killer."

The two men stared at one another for long moments: D willing Leon to believe him, Leon searching for truth in D's ageless eyes. Finally, Leon seemed to sag, looking for a split second like a worn out doll that a child had tossed away. In that second, D's heart gave a pang, for D could see the mortality in Leon as he never had before.

After a long sad silence, D sighed, "Come into the shop and let me bandage your hand, then promise me you will go home and get some sleep, Detective."

Leon gave a half-hearted smile, "Not till after I've showered." D nodded rather vigorously and led Leon into the shop, through the front entrance, of course.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"He looked tired." Sofu D said softly to his grandson.

"He is." D agreed, knowing where the comment would lead, but too worried to care.

"That is a mortal affliction."

"I know." A deep sigh. Not only mortals can become thought to himself.

"Will you go again tonight?"

"Yes."

"He is human. You can never have him. Not like you want to." D could hear the heat rising in his grandfather's voice. This was a familiar argument.

"I know." Another sigh.

"Yet you still go to him every night. What do you hope to gain?" A shrug was the only answer. "Stubborn boy." With an annoyed huff, Sofu turned and left his grandson sitting on his sumptuous couch in his darkened shop.

"Yes."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was almost reflex now: up the steps, turn right, third door on the left, pick the lock silently and you're in. A shadow flowed across Leon Orcot's living room without leaving so much as a footprint to show its passing. The door to the bedroom was ajar as it always was, and as always the shadow passed through the opening without even the slightest a stirring of air.

D paused to take in the scene before him. Leon lay stretched out in sleep, the rumpled sheets telling the story of his tossing and turnings. The moonlight gleamed on his hair, still wet from his shower, making it look like liquid gold across the plain cotton pillow covers. D sighed, making a mental note that he was starting to sound like a bellows and should stop.

Then it happened. Leon sighed back and rolled slightly in his sleep. D froze. In all the nights he had come to visit Leon, Leon had never so much as twitched while D's magic held. After long moments, when nothing else out of the ordinary happened, D shrugged off the occurrence. It had been four days since he had been able to visit Leon while he slept. Keeping an eye out for anything unusual, but also cognizant that he had a limited amount of time, D approached the bed and settled himself on it, curling up next to Leon.

How long had it been, he wondered, since he had first snuck into the detective's apartment, terrified every moment of being caught? Four months? Five? D couldn't recall exactly. It had been after a big argument, when D was so tired of being Leon's enemy that he had gone out late one night to walk. He was never quite sure how he got there, but the next thing he knew he was standing in the hallway outside Leon's apartment, the door unlocked and open.

Since that night, he had come and broken into the apartment every night that the detective slept there, which wasn't as often as D would have liked. At first he was silent and just watched Leon sleep. Little by little, he had moved closer till he was lying beside him, daydreaming of some other place where this vignette was real, where Leon would wake up and smile at D with that look in his eyes that said.

D shook himself slightly. Tonight was not the night for such flights of fantasy. In all the time that D had come to see Leon, he had never spoken a word. Perhaps he was afraid that even the tiniest sound would break the spell. Or that even with Leon sleeping, it would make him too vulnerable. There was something tonight, however, that made the need to talk well up inside of him until he thought he'd drown in it if he didn't obey. So he talked. He didn't have any particular topic at first. He talked about the pets, and how he was worried about the affect of the heat on them. He talked about the shop and how wonderful it was to discover a room that even he hadn't known was there. He talked about his grandfather and how opposed he was to these visits. He talked about the other visits. And then, finally, he talked about himself. About what he was, and how he was sure that Leon would turn away from him if he knew. About how he couldn't bear for Leon to look at him the way he'd seen others look at him, with pity or fear or revulsion. About the way his father had treated him and how his grandfather had taken him in. About how he had watched a television program on cheetahs once through a window in his neighborhood and how he had been so fascinated with the beauty of the pictures that he had contemplated purchasing one. D found that once he started talking, he couldn't stop.

When he finally ran out of things to say, it was almost six in the morning. The sky was quickly growing light outside the window. It was the longest he had ever dared to stay, but surprisingly, instead of feeling tired, he felt energized.

D knew he had to leave soon, but waited just a few more moments to savor his dream world.

Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed and the kami knew that his time was up. He carefully raised himself off the bed, smoothing the impression left by his body. With one last look at Leon's face the shadow hurried back out, silent and intangible as a dream.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, Leon Orcot rolled over in bed and opened his eyes.

"Well, shit!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Leon, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you look like hell." Jill's voice was laughing, but he'd have had to be deaf not to hear the concern in her words.

Leon just grunted and headed for the coffee machine. After all, how did you explain that after a three-day stake out, having to come in to work with less than nothing in leads wasn't exactly fun? Oh, and let's not forget being woken up last night by some big guy in a black cape leaning over you with the most piercing gold eyes you've ever seen, assuming that you'd ever seen gold eyes before, who disappeared into thin air when you blinked. Followed by Count D, the man you wish you could hate coming into your bedroom and lying down next to you all night. And Leon wasn't even going to think about all the things that the Count had said last night.

"Talkative today, aren't we?" Jill muttered. Leon just grunted again. Jill sighed and dutifully changed the subject, "What information did you get from Count D?"

Leon glared at her for a moment, then mumbled, "I didn't talk to him."

"Why not?" Jill's eyes narrowed, "Did you have another fight with him?"

"No, I did not have another fight with him," Leon snapped, "And what would it matter if I had anyways?" Jill just raised her eyebrows at him as Leon stomped his way over to his desk.

Sitting, or rather drowning, amongst a stack of paperwork, most of which were at least two weeks overdue, was a large box of chocolates, and a note.

The note read: ***** The Chief says you have the day off, and you'd 'damn well better take it.' You know what to do with the candy. Love, Jill *****

Leon stared blankly at it for a long moment, bits and pieces of D's one- sided conversation from the previous night filling his ears. Then, grabbing the elaborately decorated box of chocolates, he rushed out of the building.

Jill looked up from the papers she had been pretending to fill out and grinned after him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It's not that I'm freaked out or anything." Leon said into the silence of his car as he inched his way through the streets toward Chinatown. "I'm not."

Is that so?

"Okay, so I was a bit freaked out about that dream I had about the Count."

Dream? Which one?

"Alright, so there was more than one. So what?"

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"It's not like this changes anything."

Doesn't it?

"No! It doesn't!"

If you say so.

"Dammit, D! Why did you do it?"

Because he's lonely. Like you.

"I'm not lonely!"

Are you sure?

".What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

You know the answer.

"Fuck!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The room was dark. So dark that it was almost tangible. Unnaturally dark. He liked it that way. As he walked among the cages, the animals within threw themselves against the bars. He smiled.

They hated him. He liked that the way it was, too. They hated him. but not enough. Not yet. He stopped at the last, the largest, cage.

Sliding two pictures between the bars, he opened the lock on the cage, turned and walked away.

As he left the room, the light returned and the occupant of the last cage studied the pictures. A moment later, with a flick of her jet black beak, she broke the latch on a window and flew away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Leon approached the pet shop doors slowly, still no closer to resolving his inner argument. He paused on the last step as the door opened and D leaned out to hang something on the door frame.

It took a moment for the sign to register.

"What the hell?" D glanced up at him.

"I'm sorry, Detective, but as you can see, the shop is closed. The air conditioning is being repaired, and until it is fixed, I will not risk the health of my pets." He turned to leave.

He looks tired.

"I wonder why?" The muttered words were strangely loud in the smothering heat. D paused, looking at him questioningly. "What about your own health, Count?" He wanted to clap his hands over his mouth. What is with me today? A shadowy laugh was his only answer.

"I can assure you that I will be fine, Detective."

Are his cheeks red?

"I'm sure it's just the heat."

"Pardon me, Detective?"

Leon just shook his head. "I brought you the usual, so I'm not leaving until I get some information." He brushed passed D and into the shop. Without even pausing, he spun back around and walked right back out. "But dammed if I'm going to do it in there. C'mon, Count, I'm taking you out." If only. He decided right then and there that cutting out his tongue would be less painful than continuing to say crap like that.

D looked at him for one long moment, and then smiled almost sadly, "As you wish, Detective."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Where are we going, Detective?" D asked, looking around curiously. They were on roughly the opposite side of town from the pet shop.

"To the world's best cure for summer." Leon grinned boyishly. D just raised an eyebrow and continued to take in the shops that they passed.

Leon didn't even hesitate as he led them off the main street and into a quaint area filled with cafés and mom and pop establishments. Most of the places didn't even have signs stating what their business was, and to one such inconspicuous place D allowed himself to be guided. It was the kind of place that you probably wouldn't notice, even if you did happen to somehow find yourself in the neighborhood. Worn brick and faded trim spoke of age, but, like most of the surrounding buildings, it was well taken care of and clean.

The interior, however, was a stark contrast. The walls, countertops, sinks, equipment, tables, chairs. Everything, right down to the smallest knick knack, was obviously new and sparklingly clean.

There was a teenage girl standing behind the counter looking very bored and chewing loudly on a wad of gum. When she saw the detective, however, she immediately straightened up and tossed him a grin from behind the bright pink bubble she was blowing.

"Welcome back, Detective Orcot." She attempted to bat her eyes at him, but was foiled by her gum choosing that moment to burst in her face. The refined Count D tried his hardest not to laugh.

Leon didn't seem to notice, "Hello, Amy. Two specials if you wouldn't mind." He just continued moving until he was settled at a table off in one corner.

Amy stared after him for a moment until D cleared his throat, then sighed and got to work.

Moving to sit at the table with the blonde, the kami examined the décor of the small café. It seemed very familiar, and at the same time very strange. "What is this place, Detective?"

His companion just looked at him, then shrugged as thought nothing surprised him anymore, "Haven't you ever seen an ice cream parlour before? This is one of the best in the city, and nobody knows about it yet."

"Ice cream parlour?" Something about the words tickled in the back of his mind. "I believe that I may have once, yes. I barely recall it."

D looked as though he would have said more, but Amy chose that moment to swoop down upon them with two very large, very overfilled glass bowls. "Here you are, one special," she set a bowl heaped with an unidentifiable mixture in front of 'her' detective's friend, "and one extra-special." She winked at Leon, but he just smiled politely back at her. Finally, she flounced back to the counter to smack on her gum and look through her Cosmopolitan.

Watching as Leon dug into his 'extra-special' with gusto, D cautiously took a bite of his.

Across the table, blue eyes watched with undisguised amusement as the object of their attention began shoveling the giant ice cream sundae into his mouth in as dignified a manner as he could manage. This was definitely one of their better ideas, they agreed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mmm. What was that called again, Detective?" It was the fifth time he'd asked since they'd left the ice cream parlour.

"Five scoop sundae with fudge ripple, chocolate chip, butter pecan, banana swirl, and pistachio ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce, chopped nuts, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry. Also known as the Belly Buster." It was the same answer as the other four times, each only a hair's width higher in annoyance than the last.

"Hmmm." D nodded.

Silence settled over the car as they drove back to the pet shop. Fifteen minutes later it felt as oppressive as the all encompassing heat. "So, Count, uh. Did you have fun?" The only answer was a soft weight landing against him.

The elegant and untouchable Count D had fallen asleep on Detective Leon Orcot's shoulder.

Aw. Isn't that cute.

"No."

Liar.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Uh. Count. Hey, Count. Wake up."

I don't want to wake up. I'm having such a nice dream.

"Come on, Count. I don't have all day."

D's eyes blinked sleepily open. "Leon?"

"Yeah. That's me. We're here. Your stop."

What? We're where? And why does my pillow keep moving?

Realization finally hit, and with it, a blush worthy of a fine wine. "Pardon me, Detective." Ducking his head to hide his reddened face, the kami quickly removed himself from the car. "Thank you for the afternoon." Escape was the foremost thought in his mind. Before I make an even bigger fool of myself!

"You're welcome. And Count?" Leon's call made him pause. "Keep a watch out, okay? There've been over a dozen reports of a large bird seen flying in the vicinity of Chinatown." Without waiting for a reply, the ugly green car roared off down the road.

So that's why.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hon knew that he wasn't supposed to be anywhere near where he was, especially not this close to sunset. He knew he was going to get in a lot of trouble when he got home. His mother would probably ground him for the rest of his life this time. She'd told him so many times he'd lost count that he wasn't supposed to go near condemned buildings.

He knew he'd have to go without supper tonight, which made his chore all the more ironic.

He heard her well before he saw any form condense out of the growing shadows around him. Feathers ruffled as the blacker than black form settled before him. She was bigger than he was even now, but Hon didn't fear her. She was his pet. At least he liked to pretend that. None of the grown ups could ever tell him who lived in the old abandoned building that she disappeared into every night, and when asked, she just tilted her head and looked at him. Whoever it was, though, Hon could tell that she was very, very afraid of them.

"I brought your favorite." A torn loaf of bread taken delicately in a black beak. The child sat down nearby, pulled his knees up to his chin and watched.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In a dark alley, deep in Chinatown, a little boy split a loaf of bread with the messenger of death, and then ran home to face his mother. The giant raven watched him go, sadness in her inhuman eyes, and launched into the air to return to her master, the Devil himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I thought at first that I could burn this need out of me by going to see him." The voice was soft as he confessed to the seemingly empty shop.

"What went wrong?" Two gold pinpoints flared to life in the shadows behind the couch where D sat, staring listlessly into a long cold cup of tea.

"It didn't go away. It didn't even lessen. Instead, the need grew," the words were interrupted by a choking sob, "It just grew and grew." The teacup tumbled to the ground as the younger kami buried his face in his hands and wept.

"It is impossible. My grandson, I care for you more than you will ever know, and your pain is mine, but what you wish for cannot be. It is a child's dream."

"I want to have him as I have pretended to all those nights. I want it to be real so much."

The conversation was not a new one, and the end was always the same. Sofu wished for a moment that he could ease his grandson's pain, but no magic on earth could cure this affliction. "I'm sorry." The twin flames slowly faded, and D was again alone with his tears.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tiny hands tugged at the pet shop door. It didn't budge.

Hon frowned at the massive slab of wood. He wasn't discouraged, though, because the door never opened on the first try. It was a game that he played with it, and usually it won. That didn't discourage him either. In this game, the advantage was his. He was still growing; the door was not.

Fifteen minutes later, he gave up and knocked. Taunting. There was no other word for the way the door soundlessly, and smugly, opened. Just for its insolence, Hon stuck his tongue out it as he went through.

There was something wrong. That much was obvious as soon as he stepped through the door. Too quiet, too still. His visits with his friend had taught him to how to adjust his eyes to darkness that most people would be lost in, so he was able to creep forward in the murkiness of the shop.

It wasn't until he was halfway across the room that he heard the crying. Standing on tiptoe to see over the arm of the couch, his breath caught.

D jumped at the slight sound as though it had been a gunshot. Wiping his face and righting himself, his voice was muted and clogged, "Hon! How did you get in?"

Hon was only eight, okay almost eight, but he wasn't stupid. Crying meant that you were sad. Sad meant that you needed a friend. Ignoring his mother's voice that said it wasn't good manners, he hauled himself unceremoniously over the arm of the chair and wrapped his arms around the surprised kami.

For a moment, D went stiff, but he couldn't deny that he had needed just this very thing for a long time. Wrapping his arms tightly around the little boy, he let the pain that he hadn't even known he had be washed away by his tears. "I want forever."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darkness is a funny thing. When he was first cast into it, he'd hated it. Hated it so strongly that he had brought darkness to others. He'd learned to use his hatred, and through use it had grown powerful. Now the darkness was his power, his savior, his god.

The animals didn't hate him enough yet. He knew that one day their combined hatred would overpower his own, and they would kill him. It was only a matter of time.

Two hours later, a report landed on Detective Orcot's desk and was promptly buried in a landslide of overdue case folders. An old man walking home through a run down area of Chinatown had been terrified by laughter echoing among the condemned buildings.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Honorable Count, what does this one eat?" Hon rushed up to the older man, a very tiny, very deadly snake held triumphantly over his head.

"Small children." D murmured dryly, then laughed as the boy brought the snake very close to his face and asked it if that was indeed true. "Give her half a scoop of the brown mix and make sure she has plenty of water."

With a dutiful nod, the child ran off, curling the longsuffering snake around his forehead like a crown.

"Hey Count!" The voice was loud, brash, and unmistakable. "Count! Where are you?" The kami sighed and followed the sound of cursing back to the front of the shop.

The detective was backed against one wall, ducking and dodging as Q-chan flew at him like an avenging angel.

"Q-chan, that's quite enough." D scolded firmly, stepping through the doorway.

With a miniature huff the creature fluttered up to his nest, scolding back in his own unintelligible language.

"May I help you, Detective?"

"Yeah. There was another sighting of that bird flying around this area last night around sunset. The victim this time was a young woman. Today was supposed to be her wedding day." Leon was in what the kami had secretly labeled 'Detective Objective' mode. "We've also got the lab reports back on a feather found at the first crime scene. Our suspect is a raven, probably well over four feet tall, though the lab insists that that's not possible. So I asked myself, where does one find impossible animals?" He left the sentence hanging in the air.

Wonderful. After that splendid day yesterday, he's going to pick today to be. be. himself. The thought was rather depressing and did nothing to help the kami's black mood. "A giant raven? I've never sold anything of that nature. I sell many birds, but nothing so mundanely extraordinary as that."

"Mmhmm." The blonde's face spoke plainly of his disbelief, and D noticed that not only was the detective here only to be rude, but he'd not brought any of the usual bribes with him.

Usually, the long life of the kami would have allowed him to brush off Leon's disbelief, but today it made him inexplicably angry. "Detective, if you have no other reason for being here than to harass me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" He bit out, knowing he was overreacting, but unable to find the energy to care.

It was obvious by the look on Leon's face that he hadn't expected such a venomous response. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He'd never been thrown out of the pet shop before. Then, his face hardened and he turned and stormed out without a word.

D barely made it to the couch before his legs gave out. He didn't cry, though. He had too much pain for tears.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hidden behind one of the same curtains the Honorable Count used to spy, Hon and the little snake exchanged shocked looks. "Did you see that?"

The little snake bobbed its head and flicked its tongue out in the direction that the Count's Detective had gone.

"What should I do?" Hon bit his lip in concentration, then brightened. "Maybe if I tell them where my friend lives, then the Detective won't be mad at Honorable Count. But." He paused, face falling slightly, "she'll be in a lot of trouble. Why do they say she hurt people? Tian would not hurt anyone." The little snake bobbed its head again. "But what if he made her." The boy's eyes widened, "Tian is so afraid of him."

He paused in his thoughts to mutter, "At least I think it's a him."

The little snake hissed twice then curled itself around Hon's wrist.

"You're right! Detective Orcot could help Tian too!" He nodded vigorously at the snake, then set it down on the ground, "Now I have to go talk to Honorable Count, but you go straight back to your house, understand? No curling up to sleep or I'll get in trouble."

Venom just stuck her tongue out at him. Kill joy, ssssssss.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Look out, Jill. Hurricane Leon's on his way in." One of the undersecretaries scurried deeper into the building as if a hurricane was indeed on her tail.

"Great," Jill called after her, "and I just had this skirt cleaned, too."

Fifteen minutes later, she was not joking. Leon hadn't been in the room two minutes before he'd broken a coffee mug, shouted at four people, and, most notably, refused to even look in her direction.

With a resigned glance at all the paperwork she'd been immersed in, Saint Jill walked over to Detective Orcot's buried desk and plopped her intrusive butt on a corner kept clear for just that purpose.

"Go away, Jill. I'm not in the mood to listen to your crap," the occupant of the desk growled at her.

"That's okay. I'm just going to sit here until you are in the mood to listen to me. Until then, how about you make me listen to your crap?" She crossed her arms and settled herself more firmly to emphasize that she wasn't leaving. "Have a fight with the Count?"

The blonde detective's shoulders tightened and she knew she'd hit a mark. He continued to studiously ignore her, though.

"You really should be nicer to him. What'd you do this time? Accuse him of murdering someone again? I'm surprised he hasn't thrown you out by now." It was a familiar speech, but the reaction was completely surprising.

"Well then you won't be surprised to know that he has, now will you, Jill?" His voice was more hurtful than she'd ever heard him, but underneath flowed a note of stress.

He's stretched tighter than the rubber band around his late forms folder.

Without giving Leon a chance to disagree, she got up and began pulling him to the door. "Tell the Chief that we're taking a long lunch," she told one of the other detectives. The Chief would be only too happy to have Leon out of the office when he exploded.

There was only one thing she could think of to do. It was high time this game of ring around the rosy ended.

"We all fall down."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Are you certain Miss Jill took Detective Orcot out to lunch, Captain? Yes, I understand. It's very important that I speak to him as soon as possible. Yes, please tell him that I called. Thank you." D hung up the phone and turned to Hon. "He's gone out to lunch, but he'll call us as soon as he returns."

The little boy was practically vibrating with urgency. "We have to hurry. Tian will be leaving soon, and if we want to stop her."

"We will wait a bit longer. Run back to your house and tell your mother that I'll be serving you lunch and that you'll be back as soon as lunch is over." As the child bounded up the steps, D began to distractedly make a quick lunch. Without even noticing, he prepared twice what was necessary.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What are we doing here?" It was the first thing Leon had said since they had left the station, and he didn't sound particularly pleased with their destination.

Jill was known for her limitless patience, but she was willing to make an exception in this case. "Leon," she started in what her partner would ordinarily recognize as a dangerously calm tone.

"No, Jill. Don't even start with this. I'm not going into that damned shop ever again." He didn't even let her get through the first sentence.

"Fine! Then you can walk back, because I'm so sick of this. Ever since you met D you've been completely unable to concentrate on our cases. On the best of days you can't do paperwork to save your life, but this is getting ridiculous. I'm your partner. They don't pay me enough to be your secretary, too. Now you have two options. Either this ends here and now, or I'm applying for a transfer." Crossing her arms, Jill glared at him with all the annoyance she'd been storing up for just such a moment.

At first it didn't seem to sink into his self-centered funk, but it was easy to tell when it did. He turned to her with such a comic look of shock that she almost ruined her rant by laughing. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

I think she's serious.

"No way in hell you'd ever do that, Jill."

She just smiled sweetly, watching the doubt creep across his face. "Can you risk it? More importantly, can you risk the Count?"

"I'm not a coward."

Being scared of the Count is not cowardly. It's smart.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hon's mother was so swamped with cleaning the house that she hadn't started lunch yet. She was more than happy to let the Honorable Count deal with her son for another hour or so.

As he left the building, Hon saw the flash of sunlight on golden hair and frowned. Running across the street, he confirmed that it was indeed the Honorable Count's Detective. The detective was arguing with a blonde lady about the Count. Hiding behind the car, the little boy couldn't help but listen to their words.

"What am I supposed to do, huh, Jill? The guy threw me out earlier." The detective looked very tired and confused.

"Tell him what's been bothering you," the lady, Jill, advised, giving the detective a glance that said she knew more than she should. Hon could almost see the look fly over the man's blonde head and die a quick death against a nearby shop sign.

"I can't go in there without a." Leon ground to a halt as a box was deposited in his hands seemingly from thin air. Still he hesitated, looking from the woman to the dark entry of the shop.

The lady was beginning to look annoyed, and the little boy couldn't blame her. This was going to take forever; Tian didn't have that kind of time.

Hon ran from his hiding place from behind the car and kicked the detective in the shin. "You're the one who made Honorable Count cry!" Then, as Leon cursed and lunged after him, he made a mad dash for the sanctuary of the pet shop's interior.

Team China: 1 Team Detective: 0

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

D was beginning to worry about his little friend's long absence when the door swung open just in time to admit a speeding boy. Without even pausing, the child dashed down the hallway, heading for the snake room.

On his feet in an instant, the kami moved to follow, but just as he passed in front of the door, he found himself tumbling to the floor, a cursing Leon Orcot falling with him. Thankfully, the detective had enough presence of mind to twist them so that he landed on bottom, cushioning the much lighter man's fall. Even so, the air was knocked out of them both.

For one seemingly endless moment, they lay on the ground, too stunned by the sudden shift to react. Then, just as D realized how little his position left to the imagination, he found himself unceremoniously shoved off of the other man. Leon got quickly to his feet, but the Chinese man sat on the floor, staring at his hands, and wondering if he'd been imagining the bulge against his hip.

Shoving a hand through his hair, the detective moved toward the door as if to bolt.

"Detective." D paused, there would be time later for talking about. that. "I believe I may know where to find your killer."

That got his attention. Detective Orcot stopped dead in his tracks and turned. Recognizing that, at least for the moment, the other man was content to let things lie, he nodded, "What do you know?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After listening to Hon's story twice, both times told with only a single breath between them, Leon was ready to move. They piled into Jill's car and headed for the alley between the condemned buildings. Before it had even come to a complete stop, the little boy was out of the car and into the alley. He ran up and down the shadowy space, tapping a rhythm on the boarded windows and making the most obnoxious squawking noises. They had all been warned multiple times that the bird and boy had only met during daylight once before, so the call may not have the desired result.

The blonde man watched skeptically, doubting that the bird would show after a few moments, while Jill and the Count waited more patiently. It was noted by more than one person that Detective Orcot really should see someone about the tick in his forehead. It couldn't be healthy.

When the slender black head peered around the end of the alley curiously, both detectives were obviously surprised. Though at first it seemed as though the bird wouldn't come near them, Hon motioned it vigorously forward, speaking in Chinese and pointing at his companions.

"Hey, Count. What's he saying?" Leon muttered under his breath.

"He is introducing us as friends." D neglected to comment that the little boy had introduced him as a kami. He'd deal with that later.

Little by little, the boy cajoled his friend into entering the alley, and despite knowing what they were going to see, all present were awestruck by the sheer size of the bird.

"So this is the killer, huh?" The blonde man eyed Tian appraisingly. For a rabid killer, she was surprisingly shy. Hon glared at the detective and opened his mouth to disagree, but Leon motioned him silent. "Doesn't seem very vicious to me."

With a huff, the little boy jumped in to defend his friend. "Tian isn't mean, Detective. It's the other one. She's very afraid of him."

"The other one?" Jill asked, curious.

The boy nodded vigorously, "I've never seen him, and nobody knows anything about him. I'm certain that Tian could show us where he is, though."

Leon bowed to the bird and motioned sarcastically, "Lead on."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This particular condemned area wasn't very large by the standards of the city, but it was almost perfectly square. The building that Tian very reluctantly led them to was in the very center of it. The windows were only boarded up on the first two floors of this building and a surprising number of the upper windows were still intact.

"Alright. We'll check this out, why don't you run home kid?" Leon said distractedly, eyeing the building and possible exits.

Hon was obviously ready to argue, but D interjected, "Hon, do me the honor of escorting Tian to the pet shop." Knowing that there was no way he was going to get out of this, the boy led the relieved bird away from the building.

"D, you wait here and tell the backup where we are. Jill and I will go in and take a look." Without waiting for an answer, the brash detective headed into the building, gun drawn. Jill just sighed and followed, throwing an apologetic look back over her shoulder.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Someone was coming. He could hear them, though they were trying to be silent. Getting up out of his chair, he moved slowly toward the menagerie room. They'd be thorough in searching each floor, and that took enough time for him to prepare.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For the first few minutes, nothing seemed to be amiss, but as time passed and Leon moved further and further into the building, D knew something wasn't right.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, the kami ran into the building.

He was followed by a tiny shadow a few moments later.

Watching the happenings, Tian's black eyes were sad. They had been good friends.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Six floors of nothing." Leon muttered.

"Is it just me or is it getting cloudy outside?" Jill whispered, squinting into the rapidly darkening stairwell.

"Great. Just what we need. Seven never was my lucky number." Leon shut his mouth to concentrate on climbing the rickety stairs without slipping in the low light. By unspoken signal, they both moved down the right hand hallway, and slowly the gloom dissipated. Each room was the same, though. Nothing but rotting wall beams and broken windows.

"Whoa. Leon, you gotta see this." Jill's urgent whisper called Leon from the last room.

Following her motion, he looked down the hallway and gaped. Half of the hallway was bright and sunny as the summer outside warranted. About halfway down, however, it was as though black fog were floating about. The fog thickened and thickened until just beyond the stairwell, the doors on either side of the hall were barely visible.

"Maybe we ought to wait for backup this time." Jill's voice shook slightly.

Her partner didn't answer. Setting his shoulders determinedly, he walked down the hall to the heart of the darkness. Reaching for a doorknob, he yanked open a random door near the darkest part. Seeing nothing inside, he grabbed the door across the hall. When it opened, it was as though a river of black flowed out and over him. He never saw the hand that grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The closer D got to the top floor, the more the feeling of dread grew in him. He was on the last flight of stairs when he saw the darkness pouring like fog down the upper steps. He made it to the landing in two leaps and stared at the open door. The room within was obscured completely by the unnatural blackness. From within the voices of dozens of animals called to him to free them, their voices thick with hatred and fear.

Another sound was almost hidden by the noise of the animals, a hissing, raspy noise that sent warning chills up and down D's spine.

With a deep breath, the kami plunged silently into the ocean of black.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tian had begged him in her own way not to go into the building, but he couldn't just let Honorable Count go alone.

His mother really was going to ground him for life this time, and he would deserve every minute of it. Hon eyed the solid wall of swirling dark in fear, but he knew that this was where everyone was. And they all needed his help. Sinking to the ground, he slithered his way into the room.

Blinking his eyes to adjust them as best he could, he found that the darkness wasn't as thick as he'd thought. He could see shadowy outlines through the fog.

The room was very large, filled with a maze of tables and cages. Keeping on his belly he crawled through the forest of table legs toward where he could hear the blonde lady's labored breathing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Being helpless sucked, Leon decided. He wasn't sure how, but he and Jill, at least he thought that was her breathing a few feet away, had ended up tied hand and foot. He wasn't in the doorway anymore either. Propped up against a wall, it was hard to tell exactly where they were. The fact that he couldn't see his own nose through the. he didn't know what it was, but it was a pain in the ass.

The only plus side was that they hadn't been hurt yet. Well, he hadn't been hurt yet anyways. Neither of them had said anything since coming to their senses, so he couldn't vouch for Jill's condition.

And was it just his imagination, or was there some creepy Darth Vader-ish freak breathing down his neck every once in a while? Whoever it was, they hadn't said anything either. Leon was willing to bet money that Darth was the 'other one' that the kid had mentioned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once inside the sphere of darkness, D was surprised to find that it seemed to dissipate and fade before his very eyes, allowing him free view of almost all of the room. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted Leon tied up on the opposite end of the room. He didn't look hurt, and thankfully, nor did Miss Jill who was a few feet away attempting to nurse a bloody lip with her hands bound together. It was obvious that neither of them could see him. Or anything, for that matter.

The only figure in the room whose visage was denied him appeared as a solid, vaguely coffin-shaped column of black. It was from this figure that the hissing breaths were coming.

The animals in the room were throwing themselves at their cage doors trying to escape. No, not escape. Attack. Their hate washed over D and for a moment his vision went red.

Perhaps that was why he didn't notice the small figure sneaking out across the floor until it was too late.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Four more slides and he'd be able to reach the lady's ropes. One. Two. He wasn't sure he was breathing anymore, so great was the stress of keeping silent.

"Stop." The voice was so nightmarish that Hon froze, certain he was caught. "Welcome. I've been waiting for you." Why would he have been waiting for me?

"Why?" For a moment Hon was sure he'd spoken aloud in his fear, but the voice wasn't his. Honorable Count!

"Because you will be my last great sacrifice. I wasn't sure who it would be, but as you are here and you seem different than any of the others, fate seems to have chosen." Even snakes' hissing was less menacing than this. Almost too afraid to continue, the little boy forced his shaking limbs to haul him forward. Three.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Sacrifice?" D knew he had to keep the man talking until the detectives' backup arrived. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Hon work the knots on Jill's ropes. Hurry.

"Yes. I have achieved my revenge, so you will be the final crowning glory on my work. Just your luck, I suppose." The figure made a sound somewhere between a hacking cough and insane laughter.

"What revenge did you seek?"

The man laughed again, "Why do you care?"

D put all of his considerable charm into his next words. Must keep him talking. He noted that Hon had finished with the ropes on Miss Jill's hands and was beginning to work his way toward Leon. "If I am to be the crowning glory, shouldn't I at least know what I'm crowning?"

The figure was silent for a moment, then a walking stick appeared from the column of black and cuffed Leon upside the head hard. Over Leon's curses, he hissed, "Do I seem particularly stupid to you? I know what you're trying to do. I know that these two are police officers." He paused, seeming to calm. "But it is true that I have waited for someone to tell my story to, so I will grant your last request."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fuck that guy can hit hard.

Leon was still cursing when he felt the tiny hands begin to tug at the ropes around his wrists. He kept up his tirade for a moment longer so as not to raise suspicions, then quieted as D bartered his life for a few more minutes.

I'm going to kill him. I told him to stay outside.

Unbidden, the memory of their fall earlier rose up in his mind.

I'm going to fuck him senseless, then I'm going to kill him.

He didn't even bother to worry about when and where that suggestion had risen up from. It'd been too long that he'd denied the truth, and being helpless had a way of making you examine your life.

The feel of the ropes on his wrists going slack jerked him back to reality.

".because I saw them, they burned my eyes out and beat me until they thought I was dead. The woman who found me said I was buried under two feet of garbage in the dump. It was a miracle I survived, they all said. A miracle, HA!" the psycho was forced to pause in his story to cough up a lung.

I hope he's not contagious.

"A curse is more like it." He paused and there was the sound of a gun being cocked. "And now, it's your turn to join their wives and children in hell."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"NO!" LEON!

D's heart stopped as the sound of the gun firing rang through the room. It was so loud in his ears that he was certain he'd been hit, not that the prospect worried him any.

Before he'd even fully realized that the bullet hadn't come anywhere near him, he was rushing toward Leon. The detective's lunge had knocked the shrouded figure to the ground, the gun discharging, and then flying out of his hand and through a window.

"Leon! Are you hurt?" He knelt beside the obviously still sightless detective.

"Not that I can tell. Can't see a fucking thing, though."

Using the side of one nail in a trick that he would later deny vehemently, the kami sliced through the ropes around Leon's ankles and helped him to stand.

Before he could begin to check his love for wounds, there was a pounding on the stairs.

"POLICE! We're coming in!" D watched with a combination of relief and horror as four officers stumbled into the room, slamming into tables as they entered the blinding darkness. The cages tumbled to the ground, most ripping open as they rolled end over end, the metal twisting beneath the feet of the stumbling police.

Animals poured out of their prisons, trumpeting their freedom, and flew unerringly to the figure lying on the floor where Leon had knocked him.

With all the fluttering and screeching the blind and disoriented officers panicked and began to fire at random into the room.

Time seemed to slow to a near halt as D watched one of the guns wave through the air. He could see the course in his mind as it came to rest aiming at his detective's heart.

The bullet seemed to glint as it came into view and in that instant the darkness was broken by that tiny spark. As the light flooded the room, it seemed to be time's cue to speed up again, and he knew he only had one chance to save his love.

Throwing himself in front of the bullet, D whispered a prayer that Leon wouldn't turn away from him when he knew the truth.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The light that flooded the room was almost as blinding as the darkness. Gunshots filled his ears and vaguely through the glow he saw a figure pass before him. He caught it on reflex as it was thrown back by an impact.

Looking down, his vision was filled with pain soaked purple and gold eyes. "I'm sorry, Leon."

"D~!" At Leon's enraged shout, everything went silent. He slowly slid to the ground, clutching the kami to him tightly.

The bullet had entered through the center of the chest, shattering the sternum and sending bone fragments through the tissues. There was no exit wound, so the bullet was still lodged somewhere, most likely the spine. The clinical evaluation flashed through his mind as Detective Orcot examined the scene with utter detachment. The rest of Leon's mind was screaming denial.

"Oh shit." One of the officers soft, shocked whisper drew him out of his stupor and his head snapped up.

"You son of a bitch!" Lowering his love gently to rest on the floor, Leon lunged for the group of terrified police. None of them had any doubt that they were going to die.

"LEON! You can't help the Count like this! Go call an ambulance! Do you hear me? Go! Call! An ambulance!" Jill screamed as she fought to hold her partner back.

Tearing away from her grasp, the detective stalked up to the man who had fired the shot. Without pausing even slightly, he slammed the man in the face hard enough to break his nose and knock a few teeth out, then continued at top speed out of the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Take your friend and wait for the ambulance." Jill snapped at the stunned group. After they'd made their bumbling way out of the room, she turned back to the Count, dreading what she'd see.

Whatever she expected, it was not finding Hon using his jacket to cover D's wounds while trying to shake him awake. Her heart breaking, she knelt beside the pair.

"Umm. Hon, I don't think that he's going to wake up."

The boy looked at her stubbornly, "Yes he will."

Unwilling to argue for fear she might burst into tears, Jill reached for the jacket, but the little boy refused to allow her to move it. "I need to take a look at his injury." She couldn't quite keep her voice from cracking.

The only response was Hon shaking his head vigorously.

"She may see, Hon. I will need her aid if I am to escape before the authorities arrive." Both onlookers jumped and turned to find themselves pinned by a mismatched gaze. The boy reluctantly pulled back his jacket to expose the wound.

"Oh my god." She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The bullet by all rights should have killed him in a thousand ways, but right before her eyes the gap was closing, tissues knitting together and bone shards jumping into place. "What.?"

"There is not enough time to explain. I must get out of here before anyone else sees." The urgency in his voice was close to begging.

"Can you walk? I can support you, but light as I'm sure you are, I doubt I could carry you."

"I believe that would work, yes." He made a few short movements to test responsiveness.

"And as soon as I get you back to your shop, you and I are going to have a nice long talk, or no deal." Jill said sternly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It wasn't until much, much later when the paramedics arrived and a furious Leon Orcot finally allowed them to enter the room that anyone noticed the body in one corner. The official description of a white male in his late twenties hardly did justice to the sight they found. The lower body of the victim was shriveled in a manner similar to polio victims, but it was the upper half that lingered in memory. The eyes had obviously been forcibly removed quite a long while ago. The final verdict on the cause of death was that the rib cage had been torn open and the heart ripped out by some rampaging animal.

In one of the cages pictures were found of all the victims, though the animal that had actually done the deeds was never found, nor was it ever really looked for. A nest was also found in that cage, but the young mysteriously disappeared before anyone thought to do anything with them.

The case was closed by Detective Orcot and his partner and no more thought was ever put into the matter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Approx. 20 min. after five the following day)

"Open up, Count! I know you're in there." Leon didn't even pause to give the door time to open, but began to lay into it with his shoulder.

The door, not liking this turn of events one bit, swung open just as his shoulder hit it the second time, sending the irate detective flying into the shop. Fortunately, the Count was there to cushion his fall.

Looking down into the gloriously mismatched eyes staring at him, Leon only had one thought.

I'm gonna beat him within an inch of his life, then screw him senseless. Then we can discuss how he's willing to bribe me not to kill him outright.

With that thought in mind, he plastered D's mouth shut with his own while simultaneously wrapping his hands around the other man's slender throat. The lips beneath his own were exquisitely soft and, unsurprisingly, tasted of chocolate. Moaning softly, he drew one hand away from the other man's perfect neck and slid it across the sumptuous silk covering the chest pressed against him. No massive hole or blood gushing wound greeted his questing hand.

"I should kill you! How could you go and do something like that?" Without even pausing to let the kami answer, or breath for that matter, he kissed him roughly again.

With strength that he technically wasn't supposed to have, the Chinese man lifted the much heavier blonde detective off him, breaking the kiss regretfully.

Brushing with feigned nonchalance at the now slightly crushed fabric of his cheongsam, he began nervously, "Leon, there are a few things you should know." The words trailed off as Leon pressed a finger to his lips.

"Jill spilled her guts. Ya know. It would have made this all a lot easier if you had mentioned you couldn't die. Yeah, somewhere between waxing poetic about the TV and the whole drinking blood bit would have been just the right place."

D just blinked at him, dumbfounded. "Pardon me, Detective?"

"Uh uh. It's Leon, remember? And for your information, you talk in my sleep. At least I would have been asleep if some creepy weirdo hadn't woken me up. You know anybody besides you who's in the habit of breaking and entering? Big guy, cape, eyes that look like molten gold?"

The other man just continued to blink. Grandfather. but.?

"Hello? Earth to D. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you speechless," he wrapped his arms tightly around the kami, "I like it. And just to get this over with, I've been lectured up and down and three degrees of sideways by Jill about not lying to myself. So I won't: I love you, Count D. Forever."

D buried his face into his love's shirt to hide his watering eyes. "Forever doesn't seem like such a long time all of a sudden."

"You're getting greedy on me, D. But I have to agree, forever may not be long enough."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Should you ever be in Chinatown, there is a pet shop there that sells dreams, love, and happiness. This story is about how flame of selfless sacrifice that flourished in that place conquered over the darkness born of hate.


End file.
